FBI officials involved in the early phases of the investigation into special advisor Jack Smith related to President Donald Trump are still employed at the bureau.
Senate Attorney General Chuck Grassley released an email on July 15 revealing how the FBI and DOJ sought to initiate an investigation into a meeting believed to have taken place among Trump’s team at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., just prior to the Capitol riots on January 6.
Reports from the Washington Post in October 2021 indicated that the Willard Hotel served as a command center aimed at overturning the 2020 election results.
Wayne Jacobs, who was a special agent in charge of the crime and cyber division at the Washington Field Office at the time, was included in various communications on this matter. Jacobs has since been promoted by former FBI Director Christopher Wray and continues to serve as of November 2023.
The FBI did not provide any comments regarding Jacobs’ current status. Attempts to reach Jacobs for comment were unsuccessful.
The email released by Grassley outlines investigation procedures possibly drafted by DOJ prosecutor Thomas Windom. This includes requests for subpoenas from residents of Willard Hotel rooms and security footage captured between January 1 and January 7, 2021.
In a follow-up email dated January 13, 2022, Jacobs expressed interest in reading the details from a previously shared document on investigation strategies. He remarked on the Washington Field Office’s capacity to implement many of the proposed investigative activities identified by Windom, although he noted that the preliminary investigation might not take the required actions.
Thibault was instrumental in the “Arctic Frost” investigation, initiated in April 2022, which laid the groundwork for investigating Trump’s election interference. Grassley commented that these FBI and DOJ agents seemed to have preconceived conclusions rather than conducting unbiased investigative work.
An email also highlighted a potential conflict of interest regarding Jacobs, given that his wife, Sumia Dayananda, led the investigation for the January 6 committee. Dayananda stated that she was shocked by how Smith’s press conference resonated with the work they had done as a committee.
Grassley questioned Jacobs’ rejection based on his ties to the January 6 investigation during an inquiry in August 2022.
While Jacobs continues to work at the FBI, Windom’s LinkedIn profile indicates he left the organization in January. Thibault, on the other hand, resigned in 2022 amid criticism for his conduct during the Hunter Biden investigation, drawing attention to his perceived partisan bias.
On a related note, the DOJ recently terminated 20 employees linked to Smith’s prosecution of Trump, including two prosecutors. Over a dozen officials have been dismissed due to matters related to the January events.
Smith has been attempting to prosecute Trump ahead of the 2024 election, and previous efforts in other cases have not yielded success for Trump, accumulating costs exceeding $50 million during the process.
